Nov 21, 2011 - Arrived Safely in St Louis Area

We arrived safely at our campground in Villa Ridge just on the out skirts of St Louis. After dinner we met up with friends Jane and Jim at their house in St Louis and had an enjoyable evening catching up with our respective adventures. Jenny seemed to love being back in a house and acted just like a puppy. She still continues to amaze us. 16 going on 2. She continus to appear well.

Jul 24, 2008 - Rainin' in Missouri

Day 18. Pin Oak Creek Park, Villa Ridge, Missouri "It's rainin' it's pourin' the old man is snorin'...." Isn't that the ol' children's nursery rhyme? Suits this day well. We've moved about 200 miles north of Branson .. actually exit 247 off I-44, near the town of Eureka. Not much happening in this corner of the map except that we saw Six Flaggs amusement park a few exits north of here. I feel sorry for them tonight -- I hear they're having a concert -- must be getting soaked! I can't believe this! My "t" key just broke!! ahhhhhhhh!!!!!! Is...

Apr 25, 2008 - Villa Ridge, MO

April 25, 2008 Carthage, MO to Villa Ridge, MO We left Carthage, MO this morning around 0900 with a partly cloudy sky. It is a cool morning as the front has headed on east of us. The only rough part of our trip today is the south to southwesterly wind that is buffeting us pretty good now and then. It sure would be nice to have a nice tail wind. We are seeing lots and lots of Redbud trees with spots of the white flowering Dogwood trees which sure makes for a beautiful drive. These are a couple of Day’s very favorite trees, especially the...

Jul 25, 2007 - Love this park!

Now THIS is what it's all about - nice shady site with fire rings for campfires, fishing lake, playground - lots of stuff for the kids to do, and lots of kids to play with. Adam caught his first live minnows here, although we didn't have a chance to put down a fishing line. We made wienies on a stick and smores, and made a couple of friends. Aside from the hotel-esqely overpriced "general store", this was an A+ in our book - we'll check this out again! Not far from St. Louis and Branson, in opposite directions....

Jun 7, 2007 - Villa Ridge, MO

Friday, June 08, 2007 We biked a small portion of the 225 mile Katy Trail. This Trail stretches almost across the entire state with ½ of it following the Lewis & Clark Trail up the Missouri River. The rest of the Trail is through farmland and small-towns. The portion of the Trail we biked was compact gravel and abutted farmland. We traveled from Dutzow to Augusta, MO, which was 15 miles round trip and took about 1¾ hours. We enjoyed the beautiful country scenery. On the recommendation of park personnel we went to the tiny town of Labadie...

Oct 18, 2006 - A return to the St Louis area

This is a return visit to Pin Oak Creek Campground in Villa Ridge, MO. Our last visit was in April of this year. We spent the first evening at Dewey's Pizza eating awesome pizza with my sister-in-law and two nieces and one nephew. Rob (my brother) was on a business trip in Iowa. Rob and Carolyn joined us for an "adults only" dinner at the Canyon Café near St Louis on Wednesday night for very good southwestern food. Heavy rain and high headwinds dogged us all the way from Utica and made the drive a real pain. The park was the same as last...

Apr 24, 2006 - Family in St Louis and a return to the alma mater

We moved on from our short visit to Oklahoma to Missouri for a visit to my brother and his family in the St Louis area. This is a beautiful time of year to be in this area because my favorite plant life (dogwood) is in full bloom. My brother's family (four teenagers!) is constantly on the move between soccer games, school events, and music practice and contests. This really tested our limits of energy! Just watching all of this activity was enough to tire the most hardy soul. Gordon's nieces and nephews are a very talented group and they...